"We dress like super heroes and villains because we love them," said Benja Barker, the founder of the Alter Egos Society, testifying before city council this morning. "It's our mission to give people the opportunity to be creative and wear tights in public. Super heroes appeal to a diverse range of people in our community and beyond."

The Alter Egos Society were testifying before council this morning about their hero versus villains pub crawl, and hero versus villains costume party for the local nonprofit Pear. They were joined by the people from the Stumptown Comics Fest.

"It's estimated that a third of the comic books industry lives and works in Portland," said Kaebel Hashitani, president of the Stumptown Comics Fest, addressing city council this morning. "And that's pretty significant."

"We hope to work more with the city, and have have managed to get April declared comic book month, now, for three years running," said Hashitani. "The comic book professionals that live here help enhance the city of Portland both culturally and financially. The Stumptown comics fest brings in visitors not only nationally but internationally."

The festival hits its 10th anniversary in 2013. It wants to create more educational scholarships, and give out publishing grants to independent and small comic book producers.

"I want to thank you, personally, and the leadership of the team for doing a fantastic job," said Mayor Sam Adams. "I encourage all Portlanders to attend."

It's April 24-25th at the Lloyd Center Doubletree Hotel Exhibition Hall.